Friday, 27 August 2010

British workers plan to defer retirement

One in ten workers have no plans to retire, while 42% of non-retired workers have no idea at what age they will be able to give up work, according to research from Baring Asset Management.

In comparison, when the firm conducted a similar survey in 2008, before the downturn, the majority of respondents were confident that they would retire and just one per cent did not know what age they would stop working at.

Marino Valensise, chief investment officer at Barings, said: "Our research shows that, for a large number of people, the ability to retire is now uncertain. A combination of increased longevity, a rise in the cost of living, and people not saving enough means that more people are being forced to work beyond the age of 65. They simply can't afford to stop working."

The study also found that 100,000 people who have yet to retire don't plan to stop working until they are at least 76 years old, while 2.3 million Brits will work until they are 65 or older.

Recent research by HSBC found that almost a third of over-50s and 41% of 60 to 70-year-olds are aiming to change career or shift to a new role.